PUBLIC OPINION OF TRANSGENDER RIGHTS - in South Africa RESEARCH THAT MATTERS
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RESEARCH THAT MATTERS PUBLIC OPINION OF TRANSGENDER RIGHTS in South Africa June 2021 Winston Luhur Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane Ari Shaw
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 1 INTRODUCTION This report presents information on public opinion about transgender people and their rights in South Africa. We analyzed data from the Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey, South Africa panel, to provide new information on the attitudes towards transgender people and their rights and status in South African society. LEGAL STATUS OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA South Africa is often seen as one of the most progressive countries in terms of advancing the rights of sexual and gender minorities. Section 9 of the South African Constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, and sexual orientation, among other categories. Notably, it was the first country to adopt a constitution that explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. While gender identity is not an explicitly protected category, courts have interpreted that it falls under non-discrimination protection on the basis of gender. However, despite these constitutional protections, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face violence and harassment in their everyday lives. A survey of LGBT South Africans indicated that 42% of transgender respondents fear discrimination because they are transgender.1 In recent years, some lower courts have applied the constitutional prohibition on discrimination to cases involving harassment of transgender persons. In 2011, the Equality Court in Lallu v. Van Staden held that a neighbor’s verbal abuse of a transgender woman amounted to harassment, hate speech, and unfair discrimination.2 The Court awarded damages for infringement upon the transgender woman’s dignity and costs for remedial psychological counselling. In 2014, a magistrate’s court ordered the Limpopo Department of Education to pay R60,000 (approximately 4,000 USD) in personal compensation to Nare Mphela, a transgender woman from Ga-Matlala village, who faced discrimination from her school principal, harassment in the school toilets, and physical assault when schoolmates grabbed her genitals to “find out what is there.”3 While there have not been further cases addressing hate speech directed at transgender people, this case has set a precedent that could be used in future litigation.4 Likewise, in 2019 the Equality Court in the Western Cape handed down a judgment in the matter of September v. Subramoney N.O and Others regarding a transgender woman serving a prison sentence inside a male correctional facility.5 While incarcerated, prison officials denied her the right to express her gender identity through her hairstyle, dress, female underwear, or small amounts of make-up. Ms. Jade September was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment from prison officials, and at one time was placed in segregated confinement after trying to express her gender. The Court held that the refusal to allow a transgender person to express their gender identity is unfair discrimination that violates both the right to equality and section 8 (Prohibition of unfair discrimination on ground of gender) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA). It further ruled that prison policies granting authority to discriminate against Ms. September (i.e. Standing Orders of Personal Hygiene) were unlawful. The Court ordered prison officials to allow Ms. September and others similarly placed to wear female underwear, keep their hair long, and wear make-up. Furthermore, it ordered officials to address her as a woman through the use of female pronouns, and the Department of Correctional Services was ordered to introduce transgender sensitivity training for current and new employees. The case is notable for being one of the first to use the Yogyakarta
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 2 Principles, a set of guidelines towards implementing international human rights law in regards to sexual orientation and gender identity, as an authoritative source in interpreting the rights of transgender and gender diverse people in the South African context. The Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act 49 of 2003 allows transgender South Africans to change their legal gender markers; however, the strict requirements of the law impose barriers on legal gender recognition that leave many transgender people without accurate identity documents. The Act requires that medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures have taken place. The statute defines “gender reassignment” to mean a process undertaken for the purpose of reassigning a person’s sex by changing physiological or other sexual characteristics and includes non-surgical interventions such as hormone therapy. An application to change gender marker must be submitted along with a birth certificate and a confirmation from two medical practitioners that medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures have taken place. Because the law requires a medical diagnosis along with some sort of medical intervention, many transgender people cannot obtain legal gender recognition as a result. Such interventions may be costly as well as inaccessible, particularly for poor working class, peri-urban, or rural transgender persons, as the providers for gender-affirming procedures are usually only found within major cities. Moreover, the law prevents those who do not desire reassignment procedures in the first place from obtaining proper legal documents, including those who are unable to undergo procedures due to health factors.6, 7 This has far-reaching consequences wherever transgender people need to produce documentation, essentially prohibiting access to basic services such as health care, education, employment, and travel; receiving social grants; or undertaking essential tasks such as opening a bank account, accessing temporary housing, acquiring a driving license, and voting. While there are no restrictions for military service on the basis of sexual orientation, there are currently no policies explicitly addressing military service by transgender persons. There are also no laws that specifically address access to bathrooms according to gender identity. With regard to marriage, the Civil Union Act allows same-sex marriages in South Africa and allows for transgender people to marry someone of the same gender identity.8 However, the patchwork of statutes addressing marriage in South Africa may complicate this in practice for transgender persons. In a 2017 case, KOS and Others v. Minister of Home Affairs and Others,9 three married persons who recently transitioned applied to the Department of Home Affairs to have their gender marker changed on various ID documents. For one of the couples, the Department refused the request and wanted the couple to divorce and remarry under the Civil Union Act, stating that their (previously heterosexual) marriage was sanctioned under the Marriage Act, which does not extend to same-sex marriages. The Court held that the Department’s denial of the application was unconstitutional and violated the person’s rights to administrative justice, equality, and human dignity, and ordered that the alteration of the sex description on a person’s birth register should be granted irrespective of the person’s marital status – in particular, regardless of the statute under which the partnership was solemnized. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA There is limited empirical research that explores issues impacting transgender people in South Africa that is not exclusively in the context of HIV/AIDS. Some available research focuses on the experiences of transgender people in accessing health care. One study conducted in Kwa-Zulu Natal
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 3 found that transgender people are often met with ignorance and micro-aggressions by healthcare workers, including being forced to assume the gender identity concordant with their sex assigned at birth in order to receive care.10 Another report similarly documented that transgender people faced transphobic slurs and discrimination in accessing care, including professional stigma among clinicians against treating transgender patients that limits patient access to gender-affirming care and surgery.11 A study of transgender youth in school documented that transgender students are bullied and discriminated against by other students.12 It found that transgender and gender diverse/gender non- conforming students are also subjected to bullying by teachers and staff. The bullying can be verbal and physical. The severity of the bullying varies with the type of school and the way the transgender youth expresses their gender identity, and whether or not their gender identity and sex characteristics are known to others. Bullying tends to be more common in high school than primary school, possibly corresponding to ages that students express themselves as transgender or gender nonconforming. Perhaps the most comprehensive study of transgender people in South Africa, Trans Rural Narratives, was published by human rights NGO Gender DynamiX.13 This study employs Black feminist, trans, queer, and de-colonial methodologies to amplify the voices and visibility of rural-based transgender and gender diverse persons. The book describes the experiences of transgender South Africans across a variety of areas of social and political engagement including: access to information and language barriers, family and community acceptance, expectations of violence and rape, accessing inclusive mental and medical health, and experiences with the legal system. South Africa may be progressive in terms of some of the legal protections afforded to transgender people, but, as this survey shows, the law means little when the communities that people live in still believe that transgender people should not be a part of those communities because they are “violating” culture and tradition. By elucidating the attitudes of South Africans towards transgender people, this survey adds to that research and sheds light onto the lived reality of transgender people in South Africa.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 4 METHODOLOGY In this report, we present data gathered for the 2017 Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey about public familiarity with and attitudes toward transgender people.14 The South African sample included panelists ages 16 to 64 who could complete a survey in English (see Appendix II for methodological details). Weights provided by Ipsos were used to improve the representativeness of the panel sample; however, the sample cannot be considered a probability-based sample or one that reflects the general adult population due to the low internet penetration rate in South Africa.15 The analytic sample included 501 participants. Below, we present weighted percentages and 95% confidence intervals to describe participants’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, familiarity with transgender people, and attitudes toward transgender people and related public policies. We conducted bivariate cross-tabs to determine whether individual-level characteristics, such as sex, age, education, income, and familiarity with transgender people, were associated with dependent variables, such as attitudes toward transgender people, their rights, and their status in society. We excluded four individuals who identified as transgender because the group was too small to generate reliable estimates for transgender participants. We included further methodological details in Appendix II, Ipsos Methodology Addendum for Single Country Briefs. The UCLA North General Institutional Review Board (NGIRB) deemed this study exempt from review as human subjects research due to the use of de-identified data.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 5 PUBLIC OPINION OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AND RIGHTS DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS In 2017, a total of 501 South African Ipsos panelists participated in the Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey. Among these survey participants, similar proportions reported being male (48.1%) as female (51.9%) (Table 1). Younger participants (ages 16 to 34) made up the majority (56.7%) of the sample; 27.4% of participants were between the ages of 35 and 49, and 15.9% of participants were between the ages of 50 and 64 (mean age=34.9 years). Over half (59.1%) of participants reported a medium or high level of education (at least some college education), with the remaining 41.0% reporting a low level of education (a high school graduate or lower education). Approximately one in ten (10.5%) participants reported a low level of monthly household income (
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 6
95%
UNWEIGHTED WEIGHTED
CONFIDENCE
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
INTERVAL
Marital Status
Married 247 39.6% 35.0%, 44.3%
Other ††
254 60.4% 55.7%, 65.0%
Employment Status †††
Employed 407 78.9% 74.1%, 83.0%
Not Employed 94 21.1% 17.0%, 25.9%
† South African rand; †† Other includes domestic partnership/living as married, single, divorced, and widowed; ††† Employed
includes employed full-time, employed part-time, self-employed, and in the military; Not employed includes students, those who
were unemployed, homemakers, and the retired.
FAMILIARITY WITH TRANSGENDER PEOPLE
Almost half of participants reported having seen transgender people before but not knowing them
personally (49.4%) (Figure 1). Similar proportions of participants, approximately one in five, reported
having transgender acquaintances (20.6%), rarely or never encountering transgender people (20.1%),
or having personal friends or family members who are transgender (19.8%). Few participants (1.2%)
reported being transgender according to the definition provided. Some (3.3%) participants reported
“don’t know” in response to this question.16
Figure 1. Familiarity with transgender people among panel participants (N=501)
50.6%
20.1% 20.6% 19.8%
3.3%
1.2%
“I rarely or never “I have seen “I have acquaintances “I have personal “I myself am like this” “Don’t know”
encounter people people like this like this” friend/family like this”
like this” but do not know
them personally”
Percentages reflect participants’ answers to the question “Some people dress and live as one sex even though they were born another.
For instance, someone who was considered male at birth may feel they are actually female and so dresses and lives as a woman, and
someone female at birth may feel they are actually male and dresses and lives as a man. How familiar, if at all, are you with people
like this? Choose as many responses as apply”. Percentages will not add up to 100% as participants were allowed to endorse multiple
responses.Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 7
By categorizing responses to the question in Figure 1 into mutually exclusive options, more than
half (59.4%) of participants reported only having seen transgender people but not knowing them
personally or rarely or never encountering transgender people (not shown). Approximately one in
three (36.1%) participants reported having transgender acquaintances, friends, or family members
(not shown).
ATTITUDES TOWARD THE RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE
Participants exhibited favorable attitudes towards the rights of transgender people (Figure 2). Nearly
three in four (72.2% vs. 21.9%) participants agreed that transgender people should be protected from
discrimination. A majority of participants also agreed that transgender people should be allowed
to serve in the military (62.8% vs. 28.4%), conceive or give birth to children (62.3% vs. 30.7%), adopt
children (58.9% vs. 33.0%), have gender-affirming surgery (57.7% vs. 33.2%), and marry a person of
their birth sex (57.2% vs. 33.1%). Slightly more participants disagreed (47.5%) than agreed (45.0%) that
transgender people should be allowed to use a restroom consistent with their gender identity. Across
all seven items, between 5.9% and 11.7% of participants indicated a response of “don’t know.”
Figure 2. Attitudes toward the rights of transgender people among panel participants (N=497)
Q: Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who dress and
live as one sex even though they were born another.
STRONGLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE DON’T KNOW
5.9% 8.8% 6.9% 8.1% 7.5%
9.2% 11.7%
9.6%
16.2% 16.9% 18.6%
21.3% 18.4%
12.3% 28.1%
12.2% 13.8%
14.4%
11.9% 18.6%
29.2%
8.1%
26.2% 23.8%
24.5% 20.7%
25.7%
21.0%
43.0%
36.7% 38.6% 34.4% 36.6%
31.9%
24.0%
They should be They should be They should be They should be They should be They should be They should be
protected from allowed to serve allowed to conceive allowed to adopt allowed to have allowed to marry allowed to use
discrimination in the military or give birth to children surgery so their a person of their the restroom
children body matches birth sex of the sex they
(if biologically capable their identity identify with
of doing so)Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 8 With weighted bivariate cross-tabs, we explored how participants’ familiarity with transgender people17 and participants’ demographic and socioeconomic status were associated with their agreement with these rights-based statements (Appendix I Table A). Specifically, 62.2% of participants who reported that they knew a transgender person agree that transgender people should be allowed to marry a person of their birth sex, while the proportion is slightly lower (54.6%) among respondents who did not know a transgender person; the association was statistically significant. Notably, a lower percentage of participants who reported knowing a transgender person agree that transgender people should be allowed to have gender-affirming surgery (53.3% vs. 58.9%), but the association was not statistically significant. Lower percentages of male participants compared to female participants agree that transgender people should be allowed to have gender-affirming surgery (50.4% vs. 63.3%), use a restroom consistent with their gender identity (37.9% vs. 50.6%), and conceive or give birth to children (52.2% vs. 64.1%). The associations between participant’s sex and the aforementioned statements were statistically significant. Other measures exhibited a similar pattern, but the associations were not statistically significant. Slightly higher percentages of younger participants ages 16-34 (61.1%) agree that transgender people should be allowed to adopt children compared to participants ages 35-49 (59.1%) and 50-64 (48.1%); the association was statistically significant. About three-fifths (60.3%) of participants with a high household income level agree that transgender people should be allowed to have gender-affirming surgery compared to participants with a low or medium household income level (49.7%). The association between the two variables was statistically significant. Education level of participants was not significantly associated with attitudes on transgender rights. ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANSGENDER PEOPLE18 A majority of participants agreed that transgender people are brave (62.9% vs. 28.1%) (Figure 3). A smaller percentage of participants agreed compared to those who disagreed that transgender people are committing a sin (40.8% vs. 48.5%), have a form of mental illness (26.7% vs. 60.8%), have unique spiritual gifts (18.8% vs. 60.1%), or have a form of physical disability (15.9% vs. 69.4%). Slightly fewer participants agreed (43.0%) than disagreed (43.4%) that transgender people are a natural occurrence. Across six items, between 9.1% and 21.1% of participants indicated a response of “don’t know.”
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 9
Figure 3. Attitudes toward transgender people among panel participants (N=497)
Q: Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who dress and
live as one sex even though they were born another.
STRONGLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE DON’T KNOW
9.1% 10.7% 12.6%
13.6% 14.7%
21.1%
15.5%
25.3%
34.7%
12.6%
44.0%
40.2% 51.5%
18.1%
29.7% 13.8%
16.8%
17.7%
26.5% 19.9%
17.9%
33.2% 16.7%
23.1% 11.6%
10.0%
16.5%
10.0% 7.2% 5.9%
People who dress They are a natural They are They have a form of They have unique They have a form of
and live as one occurrence committing a sin mental illness spiritual gifts physical disability
sex even though
they were born
another are brave
As shown in Appendix I Table B, about twice as many (26.6%) participants who reported that they
knew a transgender person agree that transgender people have unique spiritual gifts, compared to
participants who do not know a transgender person (13.2%).
Lower percentages (55.0%) of male participants agreed that transgender people are brave compared
to female participants (69.5%).
Among participants ages 16-34, about three in five (62.6%) agreed that transgender people are brave,
slightly less than participants ages 35-49 (66.8%) but higher than participants ages 50-64 (55.7%). The
association between age and this measure was statistically significant.
Education level and household income level of participants were not associated with attitudes toward
transgender people.
ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY
A majority (69.4% vs. 21.2%) of participants agreed that South Africa is becoming more tolerant of
transgender people (Figure 4). A majority (54.7% vs. 35.1%) of participants also agreed that they want
South Africa to do more to support and protect transgender people. Furthermore, more participantsPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 10
disagreed than agreed that South African society has gone too far in allowing transgender people
[to live openly] (55.4% vs. 36.5%) and that transgender people are violating their culture (47.6% vs.
41.5%). At the same time, slightly more than half (50.1% vs. 44.4%) of participants agreed that they
worry about exposing children to transgender people. Also, fewer participants agreed than disagreed
(38.3% vs. 48.4%) that transgender people have a special place in society. Across six items, between
5.4% and 13.3% of participants indicated a response of “don’t know.”
Figure 4. Attitudes toward transgender people in society among panel participants (N=497)
Q: Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who dress and
live as one sex even though they were born another.
STRONGLY AGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE SOMEWHAT DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE DON’T KNOW
9.4% 5.4% 8.1%
10.2% 11.0% 13.3%
6.7%
14.2% 23.3%
14.5% 29.5%
30.1% 24.5%
20.9%
21.1%
17.5% 23.9% 25.9%
47.3%
27.1%
24.7%
21.4%
26.9% 22.3%
27.6% 25.4%
22.2%
20.1%
11.4% 14.2%
South Africa is I worry about I want South Africa to They are violating They have a special South Africa’s society
becoming more tolerant exposing children do more to support the traditions of place in society has gone too far in
when it comes to people to people who dress and protect people my culture allowing people to dress
who dress and live as and live as one sex who dress and live as and live as one sex even
one sex even though even though they one sex even though though they
they were born another were born another they were born were born another
another
Findings from bivariate cross-tabs, as shown in Appendix I Table C, indicated that a lower percentage
of participants who reported knowing a transgender person (44.6% vs. 54.3%) agree that they worry
about exposing children to transgender people, and a higher percentage want South Africa to do
more to support and protect transgender people (63.6% vs. 49.7%) compared to participants who
do not know transgender people. The association between both statements and familiarity with
transgender people were significant.
Nearly half of male participants agree that South Africa’s society has gone too far in allowing
transgender people (46.8%) and is significantly higher than female participants (27.6%). More than
half of male participants agree that they worry about exposing children to transgender people (61.0%)Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 11 compared to less than half among female participants (40.9%), and similarly for the statement that transgender people are violating the traditions of their culture (55.1% vs. 29.1%). Additionally, lower percentages of male participants agree that transgender people have a special place in society (32.3% vs. 43.8%) and that they want South Africa to do more to support and protect transgender people (46.4% vs. 61.7) compared to female participants. The association between these statements and participant’s sex were significant. Among participants with a low household income, about two in five (42.2%) agreed that transgender people are violating traditions of their culture, slightly less than participants with a medium household income (52.8%) and higher than participants with a high household income (38.3%). The association between these statements and participant’s household income level were significant. Age and education level of participants was not associated with attitudes toward transgender people in society.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 12 DISCUSSION We believe this survey is the first study of public opinion about transgender people and their rights among adults in South Africa. Overall, the findings suggest that South Africans are generally accepting of transgender people. Nearly three in four (72.2% vs. 21.9%) participants agreed that transgender people should be protected from discrimination. Majorities of participants also agreed that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military (62.8% vs. 28.4%), conceive or give birth to children (62.3% vs. 30.7%), adopt children (58.9% vs. 33.0%), have gender-affirming surgery (57.7% vs. 33.2%), and marry a person of their birth sex (57.2% vs. 33.1%). Thus, in many respects public opinion accords with the values outlined in the Constitution. At the same time, 47.6% of respondents believe that transgender people are violating the traditions of their culture, and a slight majority (50.1%) agreed that they worry about exposing children to transgender people. This suggests that many South Africans still see transgender people as deviating from societal norms. Public opinion towards the usage of bathrooms was particularly illuminating given the intersecting threads of race, class, and gender identity in South Africa. We found that almost half of participants disagreed (47.5%) that transgender people should be allowed to use a restroom consistent with their gender identity. Such viewpoints often lead to violence towards people who are gender variant, as they are seen as eroding culture and traditions.19 Meanwhile, the finding that 72% of respondents believed that transgender people should be protected from discrimination seems to contrast with the fact that transgender people in South Africa experience discrimination almost daily. This high level of support in the survey is surprising considering the lived experiences of transgender people in South Africa.20 For example, on Monday, 6 July 2020, a trans woman named Ayanda Gwentse was harassed at a shopping mall by a woman who attempted to pull Ayanda’s skirt up as if she was trying to disrobe Ayanda. This aligns with the work of student activist Nigel Patel, who argues that transgender people in South Africa face problems with safe access to spaces that have been shaped and gendered by colonization and apartheid.21 As Patel writes, under late colonialism and formal apartheid, the racially and sex- segregated English water closet toilet became pervasive. The separation of toilet spaces during apartheid was central to the logic of complete separation of races in all aspects of public and private life, and the designation of people of color as inferior. Hence, to more fully reflect on the history of gender discrimination in South Africa, it must be considered alongside race and its close connection to class. Some methodological limitations should be noted. First, as data from the 2017 Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey are not representative they cannot be interpreted as representing the attitudes of the general adult population in South Africa. The results represent a more urban, internet-connected population. Second, there are constraints resulting from fielding such a large-scale survey conducted across multiple different countries. For example, the survey language that describes transgender people may not be considered inclusive and/or accurately capture the gender diverse and/or gender non-conforming population in a particular country. This includes the broad definition of transgender people in the survey as “people who dress and live as one sex even though they were born another,” which can be misconstrued to include those who are gender non-conforming and who may not identify as transgender themselves.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 13 More research about the attitudes of state officials, especially in the context of helping transgender people access and enjoy their constitutionally enshrined rights, is needed. Future research efforts should also consider the involvement of South African stakeholders in the research process, including transgender community members or trans-specific organizations, in order to more accurately capture the data and to incorporate questions that are salient to the needs of activists, educators, and other stakeholders. Despite its limitations, this survey is one of the few to elucidate the attitudes of South Africans towards transgender people.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 14 AUTHORS Winston Luhur, B.S., is a Research Assistant at the Williams Institute. Winston works with senior scholars on a variety of projects, with a focus on international research. Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane is a South African Lawyer. Ari Shaw, Ph.D., is the Director of International Programs at the Williams Institute. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank Ilan H. Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute, and Kerith J. Conron, Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar and Research Director at the Williams for their reviews and insightful feedback on early drafts of this publication. Thanks also to Andrew Park, former International Program Director at the Williams Institute, for his contributions to the conceptualization of the Ipsos survey and the Williams Institute’s initial publication analyzing these data from 2016. The authors are also very grateful to Liberty Matthyse, Executive Director of Gender DynamiX, for providing extensive reviews to this brief.
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 15
APPENDIX I
ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES WITH ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANSGENDER PEOPLE,
BIVARIATE CROSS-TABS
Table A. Attitudes Toward the Rights of Transgender People Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender People: Weighted
Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES
THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CONCEIVE
TOWARDS THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE THE THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO MARRY A
SURGERY SO THEIR BODY MATCHES THEIR OR GIVE BIRTH TO CHILDREN (IF
TRANSGENDER RESTROOM OF THE SEX THEY IDENTIFY WITH PERSON OF THEIR BIRTH SEX
IDENTITY BIOLOGICALLY CAPABLE OF DOING SO)
RIGHTS
DON’T DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
% % % % % % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 26.9% 63.3% 9.7% 3.8* 40.5% 50.6% 9.0% 4.9** 26.9% 61.6% 11.5% 2.0 24.1% 67.7% 8.1% 4.9**
Male 40.9% 50.3% 8.8% 56.0% 37.9% 6.1% 36.0% 51.9% 12.1% 38.8% 55.5% 5.7%
Age
16-34 37.2% 53.4% 9.4% 1.2 50.1% 44.2% 5.7% 2.4 31.2% 58.0% 10.8% 0.9 29.5% 65.8% 4.6% 2.4
35-49 28.0% 63.7% 8.4% 41.6% 45.4% 13.0% 27.3% 58.9% 13.8% 29.8% 60.7% 9.4%
50-64 30.8% 59.0% 10.2% 51.0% 44.2% 4.8% 38.1% 50.0% 11.9% 38.9% 50.0% 11.0%
Education
Low 37.6% 53.4% 9.0% 0.7 51.1% 40.0% 8.9% 1.9 31.1% 56.4% 12.5% 0.2 30.2% 61.9% 8.0% 1.1
Medium 34.5% 57.0% 8.4% 53.4% 40.1% 6.4% 33.5% 54.6% 11.9% 36.4% 55.3% 8.3%
High 27.9% 61.8% 10.3% 39.5% 53.7% 6.8% 29.6% 59.6% 10.8% 28.2% 67.0% 4.8%
Income
Low 48.7% 49.7% 1.6% 2.6* 53.3% 36.6% 10.1% 0.5 34.4% 49.7% 15.9% 1.8 31.4% 67.0% 1.6% 1.6
Medium 42.5% 49.7% 7.8% 47.3% 48.1% 4.7% 44.0% 47.6% 8.4% 39.9% 50.5% 9.6%
High 28.8% 60.3% 10.8% 47.2% 44.8% 8.0% 27.2% 60.7% 12.1% 28.7% 64.2% 7.1%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know
a transgender 30.8% 58.9% 10.4% 1.6 46.9% 44.3% 8.9% 1.5 29.6% 54.6% 15.9% 7.2*** 34.4% 58.2% 7.4% 1.8
person
Know a
transgender 39.6% 53.3% 7.1% 50.0% 45.7% 4.3% 33.8% 62.2% 4.0% 26.7% 67.8% 5.5%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 16
Table A (Continued). Attitudes Toward the Rights of Transgender People Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender
People: Weighted Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES TOWARDS THEY SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM
THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO ADOPT CHILDREN THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS DISCRIMINATION
DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
Weighted %
% % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 27.8% 64.1% 8.1% 3.1* 16.9% 76.8% 6.3% 2.8 23.3% 67.5% 9.2% 2.9
Male 39.6% 52.2% 8.2% 27.5% 66.9% 5.7% 34.7% 56.7% 8.6%
Age
16-34 32.9% 61.1% 6.1% 3.3* 25.4% 68.6% 6.0% 1.2 30.0% 61.9% 8.0% 0.8
35-49 27.4% 59.1% 13.5% 17.5% 76.6% 5.9% 23.8% 65.0% 11.2%
50-64 45.6% 48.1% 6.4% 17.6% 76.3% 6.1% 32.5% 59.2% 8.2%
Education
Low 31.3% 58.6% 10.1% 0.6 22.8% 67.7% 9.5% 2.1 25.2% 64.2% 10.6% 0.8
Medium 36.6% 55.0% 8.4% 24.2% 70.5% 5.2% 33.7% 57.6% 8.7%
High 33.4% 60.9% 5.6% 19.0% 78.8% 2.2% 29.1% 63.9% 7.0%
Income
Low 38.4% 60.0% 1.6% 1.5 24.0% 63.7% 12.3% 1.7 31.6% 53.3% 15.1% 0.7
Medium 41.7% 51.5% 6.8% 30.4% 66.0% 3.6% 32.0% 60.1% 7.9%
High 30.3% 60.1% 9.6% 19.3% 75.1% 5.7% 27.3% 64.4% 8.3%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know a
36.8% 54.6% 8.6% 2.2 24.1% 71.5% 4.5% 1.1 30.2% 60.6% 9.2% 0.7
transgender person
Know a transgender
28.0% 65.6% 6.4% 18.2% 75.0% 6.8% 26.2% 66.6% 7.1%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 17
Table B. Attitudes Toward Transgender People Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender People: Weighted
Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES
TOWARDS
THEY HAVE A FORM OF MENTAL ILLNESS THEY HAVE A FORM OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY THEY ARE COMMITTING A SIN
TRANSGENDER
PEOPLE
DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
% % % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 62.6% 23.3% 14.0% 1.3 68.5% 14.8% 16.7% 0.5 50.8% 39.5% 9.7% 0.5
Male 58.1% 30.6% 11.3% 71.1% 16.0% 12.9% 45.6% 42.8% 11.6%
Age
16-34 58.5% 29.3% 12.2% 1.3 69.4% 16.7% 13.9% 1.0 46.9% 43.4% 9.7% 0.5
35-49 61.0% 22.6% 16.4% 71.8% 10.7% 17.5% 49.4% 39.7% 10.9%
50-64 66.6% 25.2% 8.2% 67.5% 18.6% 14.0% 51.4% 35.7% 12.9%
Education
Low 62.2% 21.0% 16.8% 1.8 70.9% 13.0% 16.1% 1.4 51.7% 35.6% 12.7% 1.1
Medium 56.9% 32.7% 10.4% 74.1% 11.5% 14.4% 47.2% 45.6% 7.2%
High 61.1% 29.4% 9.5% 64.9% 21.4% 13.7% 45.0% 44.3% 10.7%
Income
Low 67.9% 15.2% 16.9% 1.0 65.9% 14.1% 20.0% 0.4 51.6% 33.5% 14.9% 0.5
Medium 53.5% 32.7% 13.9% 69.5% 18.9% 11.6% 44.3% 46.5% 9.2%
High 61.3% 26.9% 11.8% 70.4% 14.6% 15.0% 48.9% 40.8% 10.3%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know
a transgender 57.5% 29.8% 12.7% 1.7 69.7% 13.5% 16.7% 1.4 47.1% 41.6% 11.3% 0.4
person
Know a
transgender 66.9% 21.6% 11.5% 71.9% 17.2% 10.9% 50.4% 40.7% 8.8%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 18
Table B (Continued). Attitudes Toward Transgender People Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender People:
Weighted Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES TOWARDS PEOPLE WHO DRESS AND LIVE AS ONE SEX EVEN
THEY ARE A NATURAL OCCURRENCE THEY HAVE UNIQUE SPIRITUAL GIFTS
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE THOUGH THEY WERE BORN ANOTHER ARE BRAVE
DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
% % % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 42.4% 43.1% 14.6% 0.2 56.7% 20.3% 23.0% 1.5 21.8% 69.5% 8.6% 4.7**
Male 45.2% 41.9% 12.8% 65.4% 15.6% 19.1% 35.2% 55.0% 9.7%
Age
16-34 46.9% 40.3% 12.8% 0.8 63.9% 18.3% 17.8% 1.3 30.5% 62.6% 6.9% 2.6*
35-49 39.2% 44.9% 16.0% 55.0% 18.1% 26.9% 19.9% 66.8% 13.3%
50-64 40.5% 46.2% 13.3% 60.4% 17.0% 22.6% 34.4% 55.7% 9.9%
Education
Low 40.5% 42.0% 17.5% 1.2 63.5% 17.1% 19.4% 0.2 25.8% 66.0% 8.2% 0.5
Medium 50.4% 39.8% 9.8% 60.1% 18.1% 21.8% 32.3% 57.2% 10.5%
High 42.5% 45.3% 12.2% 58.2% 19.2% 22.6% 27.8% 62.9% 9.3%
Income
Low 40.6% 43.4% 16.1% 0.4 57.6% 21.6% 20.8% 0.6 20.6% 69.3% 10.1% 0.6
Medium 50.8% 36.4% 12.8% 60.8% 23.1% 16.2% 35.0% 58.2% 6.9%
High 42.2% 44.1% 13.7% 61.4% 16.1% 22.5% 27.4% 62.9% 9.7%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know a
44.2% 40.7% 15.0% 1.2 64.5% 13.2% 22.3% 5.3** 31.7% 59.9% 8.4% 1.4
transgender person
Know a transgender
43.6% 46.7% 9.8% 54.6% 26.6% 18.8% 23.8% 67.4% 8.8%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 19
Table C. Attitudes Toward Transgender People in Society Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender People:
Weighted Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES
TOWARDS SOUTH AFRICA’ SOCIETY HAS GONE TOO FAR IN SOUTH AFRICA IS BECOMING MORE TOLERANT WHEN I WORRY ABOUT EXPOSING CHILDREN TO PEOPLE
TRANSGENDER ALLOWING PEOPLE TO DRESS AND LIVE AS ONE SEX IT COMES TO PEOPLE WHO DRESS AND LIVE AS ONE WHO DRESS AND LIVE AS ONE SEX EVEN THOUGH
PEOPLE IN EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE BORN ANOTHER SEX EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE BORN ANOTHER THEY WERE BORN ANOTHER
SOCIETY
DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
% % % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 61.7% 27.6% 10.7% 7.8*** 19.7% 69.9% 10.4% 0.4 52.2% 40.9% 6.8% 7.5***
Male 47.9% 46.8% 5.3% 23.3% 68.2% 8.5% 35.0% 61.0% 4.0%
Age
16-34 55.1% 39.0% 5.9% 1.6 21.1% 68.2% 10.7% 0.4 42.6% 52.0% 5.4% 0.2
35-49 54.7% 32.6% 12.7% 23.0% 68.3% 8.7% 45.5% 48.8% 5.7%
50-64 55.6% 36.1% 8.3% 19.8% 73.4% 6.8% 46.1% 48.4% 5.5%
Education
Low 58.1% 32.5% 9.3% 0.8 15.2% 72.2% 12.5% 2.2 45.3% 47.7% 7.1% 0.6
Medium 53.3% 37.4% 9.2% 25.1% 64.5% 10.4% 40.4% 55.0% 4.7%
High 52.7% 41.4% 5.9% 26.2% 68.7% 5.1% 45.3% 50.5% 4.2%
Income
Low 55.0% 34.3% 10.7% 0.2 19.7% 60.0% 20.3% 1.5 50.5% 40.4% 9.1% 0.6
Medium 57.0% 33.7% 9.3% 20.6% 74.4% 5.0% 43.0% 53.1% 3.9%
High 54.6% 37.9% 7.4% 21.9% 69.0% 9.1% 43.3% 51.3% 5.4%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know
a transgender 52.5% 37.8% 9.7% 2.1 20.5% 68.5% 11.0% 1.4 39.3% 54.3% 6.3% 3.8*
person
Know a
transgender 59.8% 35.5% 4.7% 24.9% 69.0% 6.1% 52.4% 44.6% 3.0%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 20
Table C (Continued). Attitudes Toward Transgender People in Society Across Sociodemographic Characteristics and Familiarity with Transgender
People: Weighted Percentages and Design-based F-statistic (n=497)
ATTITUDES
I WANT SOUTH AFRICA TO DO MORE TO SUPPORT
TOWARDS
THEY ARE VIOLATING THE TRADITIONS OF MY AND PROTECT PEOPLE WHO DRESS AND LIVE
TRANSGENDER THEY HAVE SPECIAL PLACE IN SOCIETY
CULTURE AS ONE SEX EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE BORN
PEOPLE IN
ANOTHER
SOCIETY
DON’T DON’T DON’T
DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC DISAGREE AGREE F-STATISTIC
KNOW KNOW KNOW
Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted Weighted
% % % % % % % % %
Sex
Female 57.3% 29.1% 13.6% 12.2*** 41.2% 43.8% 15.0% 3.9* 27.2% 61.7% 11.1% 5.8***
Male 36.5% 55.1% 8.3% 55.9% 32.3% 11.7% 44.1% 46.4% 9.5%
Age
16-34 44.3% 44.0% 11.7% 0.8 50.6% 37.2% 12.2% 0.7 38.1% 52.9% 8.9% 1.8
35-49 51.9% 37.0% 11.2% 43.1% 40.4% 16.5% 27.4% 58.1% 14.4%
50-64 50.4% 40.7% 8.9% 48.6% 38.8% 12.6% 38.5% 53.0% 8.5%
Education
Low 44.9% 41.6% 13.4% 0.7 47.4% 36.8% 15.8% 0.4 36.4% 51.6% 12.0% 0.9
Medium 49.0% 43.9% 7.2% 47.6% 41.7% 10.8% 36.3% 51.4% 12.3%
High 49.2% 39.5% 11.3% 49.7% 37.7% 12.7% 33.0% 60.2% 6.8%
Income
Low 29.6% 42.2% 28.2% 4.6*** 46.3% 37.8% 16.9% 0.2 38.9% 49.7% 11.3% 1.5
Medium 35.7% 52.8% 11.5% 52.1% 37.1% 10.8% 45.3% 50.2% 4.5%
High 53.3% 38.3% 8.4% 47.4% 38.8% 13.8% 31.9% 56.3% 11.9%
Familiarity with transgender people
Do not know
a transgender 45.1% 42.5% 12.4% 1.1 47.4% 36.8% 15.8% 1.8 39.0% 49.7% 11.3% 3.5*
person
Know a
transgender 51.1% 40.8% 8.1% 49.3% 41.6% 9.0% 29.4% 63.6% 7.0%
person
* pPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 21 APPENDIX II IPSOS METHODOLOGY ADDENDUM FOR SINGLE COUNTRY BRIEFS In 2016, Ipsos, an international survey research firm, conducted, for the first time, The Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey in 23 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India22, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States. The Williams Institute, Ipsos, and Buzzfeed News designed the survey to collect data about public opinion toward transgender people and related public policy issues, and Ipsos included it as a distinct section within its monthly online Global Advisor survey. Ipsos conducted the survey online with a panel it organized and maintains. Findings from the 2016 Survey are available in Public Support for Transgender Rights: A Twenty-three Country Survey. Ipsos maintains a large panel of more than 4.7 million potential survey participants in 47 countries, continuously managing the recruitment and retention of panelists. Ipsos conducts multisource recruitment in seeking to maintain a diverse panel of potential survey participants and sets sample goals for recruitment based on national censuses, populations that are in high demand for survey research, and panel parameters, such as attrition and response rates. Ipsos recruits a majority of panelists online, through advertisements, website referrals, direct email contact, and other methods. Individuals who consent to serve as panelists receive incentives for their panel participation, and Ipsos removes individuals from the panel who are inactive.23 In order to draw a sample for The Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey, Ipsos used a router system to randomly select potential survey participants from panelists within country-specific census-derived sampling strata with quotas set for gender, age, educational attainment, and in-country region of residence. In 2017, Ipsos conducted The Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People online survey with participants from 27 countries using the sampling approach described above. Ipsos conducted the surveys between October 24, 2017 and November 7, 2017 with panel participants in samples from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India24, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States of America. Ipsos administered the 2017 survey to panelists in Chile, Ecuador, Malaysia, and Serbia for the first time, whereas it administered surveys to the remaining 23 countries in both 2016 and 2017. In order to participate, individuals had to be between 16 and 64 years old (with the exception of in the United States and Canada where individuals had to be between 18 and 64 years old), have access to the internet, and consent to participate in the survey. The 2017 survey contained many of the 2016 survey questions,25 as well as some additional items. The survey was self-administered in the national language or most commonly spoken language in each country. Teams of in-country experts partnering with Ipsos were responsible for translation and adaptation of the original survey instrument for each country. Survey responses were anonymous, and Ipsos did not collect personally identifiable information from participants.26 In countries where internet penetration was approximately 60% or higher, the Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey data are representative of the country’s adult population.27 In
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 22
2017, there were 16 countries with better internet access and higher internet penetration including:
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland,
Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States of America. The eleven other countries,
including Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, South Africa, and
Turkey, had lower levels of internet penetration, so findings from these countries are not nationally
representative and instead represent a more affluent, internet-connected population. In addition,
Ipsos did not collect data from individuals in China or Mexico with less than a secondary education or
in Brazil from individuals with less than a primary education due to internet penetration constraints.
The 2017 survey sample included 19,747 adults across the 27 different countries. Approximately
500 panelists each from Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Ecuador, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru,
Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey completed surveys, in addition
to approximately 1,000 panelists each from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Great Britain,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States of America.28
We have reproduced the 2017 Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey items below.
1. Some people dress and live as one sex even though they were born another. For instance,
someone who was considered male at birth may feel they are actually female and so dresses
and lives as a woman, and someone female at birth may feel they are actually male and
dresses and lives as a man.
How familiar, if at all, are you with people like this? Choose as many responses as apply.
I rarely or never encounter people like this
I have seen people like this but do not know them personally
I have acquaintances like this
I have personal friends/family like this
I myself am like this29
Don’t know
2. Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who
dress and live as one sex even though they were born another.
They should be allowed to have surgery so their body matches their identity
They should be allowed to use the restroom of the sex they identify with
They should be allowed to marry a person of their birth sex
They should be allowed to conceive or give birth to children (if biologically capable of doing so)
They should be allowed to adopt children
They should be protected from discrimination by the Government
They should be allowed to serve in the military
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Don’t knowPublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 3
3. Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who
dress and live as one sex even though they were born another.
They have a form of mental illness
They have a form of physical disability
They are committing a sin
They are violating the traditions of my culture
They are a natural occurrence
They have a special place in society
They have unique spiritual gifts
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Don’t know
4. Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement below about people who
dress and live as one sex even though they were born another.
South Africa’s society has gone too far in allowing people to dress and live as one sex even
though they were born another
South Africa’s is becoming more tolerant when it comes to people who dress and live as one
sex even though they were born another
I worry about exposing children to people who dress and live as one sex even though they
were born another
People who dress and live as one sex even though they were born another are brave
I want South Africa to do more to support and protect people who dress and live as one sex
even though they were born another
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Don’t know
Note: The survey did not use the term transgender. While the term transgender is increasingly common
in international and non-English contexts, it is not known whether the term is universally understood.
In order to develop questions that were more likely to be understood across countries, Ipsos asked
survey participants about people whose current gender identity is different from their sex at birth.
Prior to administering the survey, participants received a definition, similar to a transgender status
definition provided on the optional sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) module30 of the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). This BRFSS definition stated: “Some people
describe themselves as transgender when they experience a different gender identity from their
sex at birth. For example, a person born into a male body, but who feels female or lives as a woman
would be transgender.”Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 4
ENDNOTES
1
Hate Crimes against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT ) people in South Africa, 2016 (https://www.out.org.
za/index.php/library/reports).
2
Lallu v Van Staden Roodepoort Equality Court, Case No 3 of 2011.
3
https://mg.co.za/article/2017-03-21-victory-for-queer-kids-in-limpopo-equality-court-ruling/.
4
Mphela v Manamela and others (2016) case no1/2016 Seshego Magistrates Court (Equality Court).
5
September v Subramoney NO and Others (EC10/2016) [2019] ZAEQC 4; [2019] 4 All SA 927 (WCC)
6
https://0ce9900d-c9c4-45eb-9f73-8e17bcae73f0.filesusr.com/ugd/3486ef_cd72f992b4374a16b2b497097601b7a1.
pdf
7
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wx7d9o06qec0ka2aJ32G47JsT1BR2DI0/view
8
Civil Union Act 17 of 2006.
9
KOS and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Others (2298/2017) [2017] ZAWCHC 90; [2017] 4 All SA 468 (WCC);
2017 (6) SA 588 (WCC) (6 September 2017)
10
UVUNO, Zamasomi P. B.; NCAMA, Busisiwe and MCHUNU, Gugu. Transgender population’s experiences with
regard to accessing reproductive health care in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa: A qualitative study. Afr. j. prim. health
care fam. med. (Online) [online]. 2019, vol.11, n.1 [cited 2020-06-17], pp.1-9. Available from: http://www.scielo.org.
za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2071-29362019000100037&lng=en&nrm=iso. ISSN 2071-2936. http://dx.doi.
org/10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.1933.
11
KwaZulu Natal Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Needs Assessment Report 2012. Bateman, C. (2011).
Transgender patients sidelined by attitudes and labelling. The South African Medical Journal, 101(2), 91-93
12
Gender DynamiX research report: Sanger, N. 2014. Young and Transgender: Understanding the Experiences of Young
Transgender Persons in Educational Institutions and the Health Sector in South Africa. http://genderdynamix.org.za/wp-
content/uploads/GDXtransyouth2015-web.pdf
13
https://0ce9900d-c9c4-45eb-9f73-8e17bcae73f0.filesusr.com/ugd/3486ef_cd72f992b4374a16b2b497097601b7a1.
pdf
14
We used the term “transgender” throughout this report to refer to “people [who] dress and live as one sex even
though they were born another.” This definition was intentionally broad so as to encompass the diversity of identities of
gender minority peoples in the 27 countries surveyed in the larger Ipsos survey project.
15
Clark, J. & Jackson, C. (2018, January). Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People. Ipsos. Retrieved from: https://www.
ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/global-attitudes-toward-transgender-people
16
It is not clear from participants’ responses what those who selected “don’t know” were indicating, whether it was
that they did not understand the meaning of the question, they did not know if they knew any transgender people, or
something else.
17
Among participants who were not transgender, those who reported having transgender acquaintances, friends, or
family members we coded as “know a transgender person”; participants who reported rarely or never encountering
transgender people or seeing transgender people but not knowing them personally and did not indicate that they havePublic Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa | 5
transgender acquaintance, friends, or family we coded as “do not know a transgender person;” and any participants who
indicated that they “don’t know” in response to the question about familiarity with transgender people we coded as
“don’t know.” Participants who indicated “don’t know” were excluded from analyses.
18
Attitudes towards minority group members (e.g., religious minorities, sexual minorities, and racial or ethnic minorities)
have long been the subject of public opinion polls and surveys of social attitudes as a way for researchers to gauge and
assess change in levels of social acceptance. See, for example, findings from the 2018 General Social Survey about racial
inequality: http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/Changing-Attitudes-about-Racial-Inequality.aspx
19
A Lock Swarr ‘Paradoxes of butchness: Lesbian masculinities and sexual.
violence in Africa’ (2012) 37(4) Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 962
20
https://www.mambaonline.com/2020/07/17/transgender-woman-attacked-in-port-elizabeth-shopping-mall/
21
Nigel Patel (2017): Violent cistems: Trans experiences of bathroom space, Agenda
22
Prior Ipsos research found that samples of panelists administered online surveys in India are not representative of the
general population. Data from the online survey of panelists in India provided additional evidence for this. Therefore,
Ipsos conducted additional face-to-face interviews with a sample of 610 adults and excluded data from the original
online survey panelists in India from published data. Data from the face-to-face interviews in India are presented in
Public Support for Transgender Rights: A Twenty-three Country Survey and in all Ipsos publications containing data from the
Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey, while data from the original online survey of panelists in India have
not been published. The survey administered in the face-to-face interviews included the same questions as the Global
Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey, as well as a series of additional questions specific to the Indian legal and
social environment. Survey participants in India were identified through randomized sampling of postal addresses in five
localities. Individuals did not receive incentives for participation or completion. Personal identifiers were removed by
Ipsos while cleaning these data.
23
Panelists receive points based on survey completion. The number of points received is a function of survey length
and complexity. Benefits do not accrue to panelists who do not complete surveys. Panelists’ participation in surveys is
tracked (for inactivity, speed, and other variables) to identify quality issues. Regular participation in surveys is required for
panelists to maintain standing in the panel; although, panelists are given a significant time frame in which to respond to
surveys before they are identified as inactive. Panelists who are disengaged or presenting other problems are regularly
removed from the panel.
24
In 2017, the Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey was administered online to the sample of Ipsos
panelists in India. Face-to-face interviews were not conducted in India in 2017.
25
However the 2017 version removed the social proximity questions about not wanting to have transgender people as
neighbors, coworkers, teachers, members of the military, elected leaders, and family members and a question about how
transgender individuals should or should not be able to legally change their gender on identity documents. Ipsos added
new questions about gender pronoun use and political and social developments.
26
This is with the exception of data from India where Ipsos collected personally identifiable information from
participants who participated in the face-to-face interviews. Data collected in these interviews are confidential, and
Ipsos removed personal identifiers while cleaning the data.
27
While the use of census-based weights allows these data to be balanced to reflect the general adult population, as
with any methodology, there are limitations in the generalizability of data based on differential probabilities of inclusion
in the sampling frame.You can also read
